**EXHIBIT 31.1**

**MANAGEMENT CERTIFICATION PURSUANT TO**

**SECTION 302 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002**

I,**José Rafael Fernández**, President and Chief Executive Officer of OrientalFinancial Group Inc., certify that: 

*1.     *I have reviewed this quarterly reporton Form 10-Q of Oriental Financial Group Inc.; 

*2.     *Based on my knowledge, this reportdoes not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state amaterial fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of thecircumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading withrespect to the period covered by this report; 

*3.    *Based on my knowledge, the financialstatements, and other financial information included in this report, fairlypresent in all material respects the financial condition, results of operationsand cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in thisreport; 

*4*.    Theregistrant’s other certifying officer and I are responsible for establishingand maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange ActRules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting(as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f ) and 15d-15(f )) for the registrantand have: 

*a)   *Designed such disclosure controls andprocedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designedunder our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to theregistrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us byothers within those entities, particularly during the period in which thisreport is being prepared; 

*b)   *Designed such internal control overfinancial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reportingto be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regardingthe reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financialstatements for external purposes in accordance with U. S. generally acceptedaccounting principles; 

*c)    *Evaluated the effectiveness of theregistrant’s disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this reportour conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls andprocedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on suchevaluation; and 

*d)    *Disclosed in this report any changein the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting that occurredduring the registrant’s most recent fiscal quarter that has materiallyaffected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect the registrant’sinternal control over financial reporting; and 

*5*.     Theregistrant’s other certifying officer and I have disclosed, based on our mostrecent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to theregistrant’s auditors and the audit committee of the registrant’s board of directors:

*a)  *All significant deficiencies andmaterial weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control overfinancial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect theregistrant’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financialinformation; and 

*b)    *Any fraud, whether or not material,that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in theregistrant’s internal control over financial reporting. 

 

Date:November 9, 2012 

 

 

By:       /s/ José Rafael Fernández

JoséRafael Fernández

Presidentand Chief Executive Officer

 

 

 

----